mjm

Exactly. I used to love grabbing a dirt cheap rate at the Embassy Suites Walnut Creek and BARTing into the City. Not only was it close to home for me (just the other side of the tunnel) but $100 rates were frequent. No more. Have to stay down by the airport to get those rates now and rent a car. Wine nights require Uber.

mjm

It was the pride of so many on the Bay Area. The raised tracks and how they did that and then later the tunnel, nobody could believe it as we all imagined the Disneyland submarine ride. But AC Transit and endless transfers were my bread and butter. The F into the city, the 15 to down by your place, the 51 or 33 into Oakland, oh yeah that was a time. The blue tiles of Oakland BART still remain a very strong memory for me. Right into the basement of Capwells.

squeakr

There are other good reasons to choose Uber, Lyft or even wingz (The latter needing to be booked in advance) as the cost savings will not be as substantial as you might think. If you take Uber or Lyft, even if you are delayed in traffic it won’t change the fare.

But I find riding public transport around the bay area rather unpleasant since Covid as many people have not followed and continued not to follow masking and other requirements. I don’t think public transport is really unsafe, but it can be rather unpleasant.

Boraxo

Small world, my grandpa was an infant when his (my) family moved across the bay to Oakland after the 1906 quake. And for many years my grandfathers office was at 19th & Franklin after he moved from the Tribune tower.

with our respective bonfides now firmly established I concur 100% that it is not safe to walk from BART downtown Oakland after dark. Downtown SF is far safer, though things are so bad there that the Mayor is now adopting a law and order platform to clear the streets of vagrants.

if people want cheap hotels just stay near SFO or Pleasanton and take BART into the city. I find sub-$100/nt rates often at chain properties in both locations. You’ll be giving up precious hours commuting and will have to plug your nose on BART, but if you have more time than $$$…

KathyWdrf

Although public transportation does present some COVID transmission risk (esp. if there are riders not wearing masks -- though on my few public transit rides during COVID, I have not seen any), it seems to me that the same risks exist on taxi/Uber/Lyft/etc. How many maskless riders have ridden in the vehicle before you, possibly carrying the virus and coughing and sneezing up a storm?

Kacee

Agreed. I try to pick a car with no homeless people passed out, and it can be really difficult. This is certainly a consideration for me in choosing between BART ($10, 50 minutes, no traffic risk) and Uber/Lyft Black ($115, 25-30 minutes when there's no traffic). While I have sympathy for those who find a heated BART car the most comfortable place to crash, particularly during rainy season, it is a very sad comment that our society's inability to take care of its own has created a situation which dissuades many from taking public transit.

ucdtim17

I don't know if ancestral roots in the city for a resident of nearby rich, white suburb with exactly counts as "bonafides" in the way you intend here. Danville exists as it does because white people thought (and continue to think) Oakland is too dangerous. It's Danville's raison d'être.

Eastbay1K

It is Danville's reason for suburban sprawl McMansions, and perhaps the raison d’être of the current population, but unlike a lot of SoCal, most of the Bay Area cities have a long history that predates the urban decay causing "white flight."

Give me Oakland any day over Danville. I wouldn't be surprised if Danville once prohibited Negroes, Hebrews and Yellows.

ucdtim17

https://museumsrv.org/post-1380/

You can just imagine what members of this "homeowners and business owners group" thought about Oakland in 1980

Kacee

No one should be throwing stones here. My mom's block in North Berkeley is subject to restrictive racial covenants, as is most of Claremont and Upper Rockridge (which have of course been unenforceable since the 1948 decision in Shelley v. Kraemer).

Eastbay1K

No stone throwing. At least my now gentrified area of Berkeley wasn't worthy of said covenants once upon a time.

And back to the topic at hand, I'd say that most of the neighborhoods that don't rely on daily business traffic for livelihood are in pretty good shape, and those that do are the current places to avoid.

gaobest

i took Bart in December and it was fine. Daytime. Masked. 24th to Oakland 19th and back.
I last took Bart at evening in 2019 - Bart to the Oakland stop for jack London square. Then Uber from Bart to my venue - 5 minute car ride because I wasn’t going to walk there at night.

I ride share or taxi anytime I’m going out and having anything to drink. My next expected night out is Rebecca black on 1/20. I’ll rideshare there from my house.

mjm

Oh my, I miss going to shows. Have fun! Down there by the Rickshaw though is definitely an Uber destination for me. Up until a year ago I was using a clinic just below Market on Van Ness and it is a "choice" neighborhood even in the daytime.

gaobest

Hayes valley is nice. The donut shop at market & van Ness is very good - good $1.25 donuts whereas Johnny doughnuts are $4 apiece.

mjm

Indeed, I like the cafe culture in that area.